Products are typically shipped to retailers in bulk by enclosing multiple individual product units in a container, such as a carton or box. For example, canned foods may be shipped to a retailer in a box containing twenty-four individual cans. Then, it is typically the retailer's obligation to remove the individual product units from the container and present them (e.g., on a shelf) to consumers.
Alternatives to the traditional package-ship-unpack-display model are being developed in an effort to improve operating efficiency. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,437 to Lofton et al. discloses a new system for dispensing and displaying products packaged in a container. Specifically, the system includes a frame having a support structure, a product display area and an opening tool. The frame may be positioned on a retailer's shelf and loaded with product simply by placing a container comprising multiple units of product onto the support structure of the frame. As the container is being placed onto the support structure, the opening tool of the frame opens the container in such a manner that products roll from the container and down to the product display area of the frame under the force of gravity. The entire contents of U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,437, which issued on Apr. 12, 2011, are incorporated herein by reference.
As another example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/032,734 filed by Gelardi et al. discloses a product dispensing system that utilizes an opening tool having a catch element that engages and opens a container as the container is loaded onto the dispenser, and then guides the container to avoid interference between the dispensing products and the open container. The entire contents of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/032,734, which was filed on Feb. 23, 2011, are incorporated herein by reference
Despite advances already made in the field, those skilled in the art continue with research and development efforts directed to apparatus and systems for dispensing products from packaging containers.